Auricularia polytricha (wood ear mushroom/Jew's ear
fungus/Jelly fungus/jelly ear) is gregarious in nature.
Usually it grows as a weak parasite to saprophyte. It occurs in
clusters growing on tree trunk and dead branches. The general
habitat for A. polytricha is moist-deciduous to
wet evergreen forests of the Western Ghats. The specimen was
collected from Parsik hills, Thane district (19.936.31°N
73.11777°E) from the host tree Samanea saman. The area of
Parsik hills is ~15 sq. km reserved forests, scrub grassland,
vegetation- Samania saman plantations.

Edible, however, not much exposed
to cuisine outside Asia because of their unique texture and do not
inhibit the typical flavor profiles that many mushrooms share.
These are mainly used for soups and stir fries to add a textural
and visual component1.

Medicinal importance:

Auricularia polytricha
extract exhibited the ability to adsorb glucose and to suppress the
activity of α-amylase; thus it might contribute a beneficial effect
on postprandial levels of blood sugar2.

Auricularia auricula and
A. polytricha have been used in Chinese folk medicines for
thousands of years and has traditionally been used to treat
hemorrhoids and as a stomach tonic3. Chinese people also
believed that if this mushroom is eaten regularly or brewed in a
tea, enhance health and treat ailments4.

Auricularia polytricha
has proved to have antioxidant and antimicrobial properties against
to Candida albicans, Escherichia coli,
faecalis, Pseudomonas aeroginosa, and
Staphylocochus aureus5.

Industrial importance:

A study investigated the potential
of the fruiting bodies of Auriculariapolytricha
as adsorbents to remove emulsified oil from water and concluded
that the fruiting bodies can be a used to remove emulsified oil
from water. This technology can be applied to industries that
process petroleum, metals, food and textiles and release oily
water6.

Unique features:

Auricularia polytricha
produces an anticoagulant effect and hence like aspirin, this
mushroom should not be ingested prior to surgery or by patients
with poor blood clotting7.

Interesting facts:

Auricularia polytricha is
commonly used in Chinese cooking. Szechwan and Hunan cuisines use
it more for soaking up their richer sauces than for
texture8.

Commercial products:

Nutra green biotech, China supplies polytricha
extract9.

Product name

AuriculariaPolytricha Extract

Dosage

1000-2000 mg daily

Main benefits

Antioxidant, anticancer, anti-diabetes, Immune System
Enhancement

Applied industries

Medicine, food additive, dietary supplement

MycoMedica also sells extract of
polytricha10.

Patents:

The process of extracting
polytricha extract is developed. This extract has
anti-allergic action and is usable in drugs and food
applications11.

The method is developed for
extracting polytricha polysaccharide and non-water soluble
dietary fibers. This method can also use leftover of waste liquor
generated in the extraction process as a liquid fertilizer source
in planting industry or a nutrient in the breeding industry, so
that basic zero emission of pollutants can be
achieved12.

Publications:

Taxonomy and diversity of
different species of Auricularia is studied and
information on its ethenomycological uses is
documented13.

The edible mushroom
polytricha was studied for their nutritional values in
terms of protein, carbohydrate, lipids, fat, crude fiber, moisture,
and ash content14.

The genetic diversity of 20 wild
A. polytricha strains from Yunnan Province and
four cultivated strains from Henan and Sichuan Province were
profiled by using 10 pairs of sequence-related amplified
polymorphism (SRAP) primers15.

The taxonomy and diversity of
different species of A.auricula, A.
auricula-judae, A. polytricha and
Auricularia sp. from woodland of Nameri National Park,
Assam were studied and their ethenomycological information was
discussed13.

The study was conducted to find
out the suitable tree species as a substrate for growth of
polytricha. The study used wood meals of 3 tropical
hardwood species (Falcatariamoluccana,
Shorea sp., and Tectonagrandis) from
Indonesia as basal cultivation substrates. The fastest mycelia
growth was found in the substrate made of Shorea
sp16.